Saturday, July 09, 2016

Clap If You Believe!: A Fairy Friend by Sue Fliess

THERE ARE FAIRIES IN THE SKY
ALL AROUND YOU, FAIRIES FLY.
FLIT AND FLUTTER, TUMBLING, TWIRLING,
WHEN THE WIND BLOWS, FAIRIES SWIRLING.

The vision of a miniature world all around us, one not easy to see unless you are in the know--this is the flight of fancy that has through the ages drawn us to find the fairy world.

A girl sits down in a cozy porch rocker with an enticing book all about fairies and how to find them. With gauzy pictures of tiny fairies floating on the backs of dragonflies, the book draws her into the quest for a fairy friend.

YOU MUST KNOW JUST WHERE TO LOOK,
SEARCH EVERY NICHE AND NOOK.

At first the girl and her bulldog see nothing of the fairies partially concealed in the illustrations, hiding in the forks of trees and riding the breeze inside curled-up leaves. But as she leafs through the book, she finds directions for how to lure her own fairy friend--by building a fairy house.

BUILD A FAIRY HOUSE WITH TWIGS AND BLOOMS.
DECORATE HER FAIRY ROOMS.

The stuff of fairy decor naturally runs to the soft and fleecy--feathers, thistle fluff, willow fuzz--and a resident fairy will not say no to a tiny swing made from a half of a walnut shell, or a bath from an upturned mushroom cup. And don't forget a tiny helping of fresh flower petal stew!

Sue Fliess' A Fairy Friend (Henry Holt and Company, 2016) sets a respectfully nostalgic mood in this how-to story for finding your own fairy friend. The delicate artwork of Claire Keane takes the lead, with old-fashioned pen-and-ink drawings washed with hues of lavender and teal and dainty feminine fairies who look as if they might be friends of Disney's Tinkerbell. From Edmund Spenser's faeries to Cinderella's fairy godmother, tales of the fairy world that might be all around us have been staples of literature. An enticing flight of fancy indeed, for those who can believe....

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About Me

Retired after 32+ years as an elementary librarian, I really miss the joy of bringing together the right book with the right reader at the right time. Loving both kids and books equally as I do, perhaps helping children and the adults who care about them find good books through this blog is the next best thing to being there.
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